Method and apparatus for collecting charging information of a data service

ABSTRACT

The present invention discloses a charging method for collecting charging information of data service and an apparatus thereof. The method comprises: receiving service data from a gateway service node; determining a protocol type of the received service data according to an IP port number of the service data; classifying the received service data according to the protocol type of the service data; distributing the classified service data to a plurality of protocol processing modules; at each of the plurality of protocol processing modules, extracting charging information of the classified service data, wherein the charging information comprises the protocol type of the service data; sending the charging information to a charging system for charging by a charging mode; and transmitting the respective classified service data transparently to a packet switched domain network. This invention can accurately collect the charging information of service data of various classes.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.11/414,476, filed Apr. 28, 2006, which is a continuation ofInternational Patent Application No. PCT/CN2004/001224, filed Oct. 28,2004. The International Application claims priority to pending ChinesePatent Application No. 200310103313.1, filed Oct. 28, 2003. Theafore-mentioned patent applications are hereby incorporated by referencein their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to techniques for collecting charginginformation of a packet data service in a wireless network, andparticularly, to an apparatus for collecting charging information of apacket data service and charging method thereof.

BACKGROUND

Wireless networks, with their fast development, are available to providedata services based on a packet-based network. The integration of awireless packet-based network and an Internet has formed a goodfoundation for the development of wireless data services. At the sametime, the traditional mode of service charging in the wireless network,such as charging the voice service based on time duration, can no longersatisfy the demand of data services. Therefore, the charging mode ofdata service has become a focus in the technical field.

The charging modes of data services include volume based charging mode,content based charging mode, application based charging mode, andtime-duration based charging mode. For example, Multimedia MessagingService (MMS) is charged by content, i.e., charged by each piece ofmessage regardless of volume of flow. For another example, stream mediavideo service may be charged according to the actual volume of flow, orcharged by content as well.

At present, collecting points of charging information generally involvevarious devices, including Serving GPRS Support Nodes (SGSN), GatewayGPRS Support Nodes (GGSN), Wireless Access Protocol Gateways (WAP GW),and service servers. Typically, the volume charging information of aservice is collected at the SGSN or the GGSN and it is sent to a ServiceControl Point (SCP) or other charging devices for cost deductions andterminal charges, while the content, application or time durationcharging information is collected at the service servers and is sent tothe SCP or other charging devices for cost deductions and terminalcharges.

SUMMARY

The present invention is directly toward to an apparatus applied in awireless network for collecting charging information of a data service,comprising: a protocol distribution processing module for classifyingservice data received from a gateway service node in the wirelessnetwork by protocol type, and sending the classified service data to aprotocol processing module of the corresponding protocol type; receivingservice data from one or more than one protocol processing module andsending the service data to the gateway service node;

said one or more than one protocol processing module for receiving theclassified service data from the protocol distribution processing modulecorresponding to the protocol type, obtaining charging information ofthe service data and sending the charging information to a chargingsystem, and transmitting the service data transparently to a packetswitched domain network; receiving the service data from a packetswitched domain network, obtaining the charging information of theservice data and sending the charging information to the chargingsystem, and transmitting the service data transparently to the protocoldistribution processing module.

Meanwhile, the present invention also provides a charging method fordata service in a wireless network, comprising:

A. deciding protocol type of received service data, and classifying thereceived service data in terms of the protocol type of the service data;andB. obtaining charging information of the received service data havingbeen classified, respectively, and sending the obtained charginginformation to a charging system for charging.

As can be seen from the above, according to the present invention, anapparatus for collecting charging information of data service is addedbetween the GGSN and the packet-based network. The charging informationbeing collected comprises all information of volume, content, timeduration and application charging mode of the service data, such as thevolume and time duration of the data service and the service class ofthe service data. The collecting apparatus of charging information of adata service classifies the service data according to the protocol typethereof, processes the service data of different protocol types indifferent protocol processing modules, obtains Charging Data Record(CDR) information of different service data for charging, and chargesthe corresponding data service in a prepaid charging system or areal-time charging system based on the CDR information. Therefore, theapparatus and method of this invention can implement a uniformcollection of the charging information of data services so as to sendthe information to the charging system for charging in correspondingcharging modes.

As the charging information collected by the apparatus of the presentinvention comprises the service class of the service data, even if thecharging system has charged the service data based on the contentcharging information collected by other service servers, the chargingsystem can still differentiate the service class of the service data andrecognize the service data based on the charging information collectedby the apparatus of this invention, and thus no more charging will bedone. Consequently, the problem of repeated charging on the existingwireless networks can also be solved by this invention.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the system architecture for collectingvolume information of service data in a wireless network according to anembodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating detailed structure of a PROXY deviceaccording to an embodiment of the present invention; and

FIG. 3 is a flowchart of volume-based charging on service data by meansof the PROXY device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

In order to make the objects, technical solutions and merits of thisinvention clearer, a further detailed description of embodiments of theinvention is given hereinafter with reference to accompanying drawings.

In an embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus for collectingcharging information of data service is connected between a GGSN and apacket switched domain network. As shown in FIG. 1, which is a diagramillustrating the system architecture for collecting volume informationof service data in a wireless network according to this embodiment, aMobile Station (MS) accesses a SGSN via a Base Station Subsystem (BSS).By help of a Mobile Switching Centre (MSC), an HLR, and an EquipmentIdentity Register (EIR), the SGSN makes the decision which GGSN is to beaccessed by the MS and performs the accessing, and the GGSN decidesthrough the HLR which packet switched domain network is to be accessedby the MS and implements the accessing for the MS to the appropriatepacket switched domain network. The outside interface of this systemconsists of various service servers, and the service servers may belocated at different points, e.g., at the GGSN or the SGSN, forcollecting content, time duration or application charging information ofservice data of various classes. When the charging information of thedata service is collected for this MS, a PROXY device is added between aGi interface of the GGSN and the packet switched domain network, wherethe PROXY device collects the CDR information of the service data the MSaccesses. According to the CDR information, accurate differentiation onclasses of the service data can be made and the charging information ofthe service data will be obtained. The service data class and thecharging information thereof which are obtained through the analysis onthe CDR information are sent to a prepaid charging system or a real-timecharging system for charging operation. The interworking of the MSC, theHLR, and the EIR with the SGSN is carried out by means of SignalingSystem No.7 (SS7), the interworking of the HLR and the SCP with the GGSNis implemented via the SS7, the interworking of the prepaid chargingsystem and the real-time charging system with the PROXY device isperformed using the IP, and the interworking between the SGSN and theGGSN is upon the IP Backbone.

The detailed structure of the PROXY device is shown in FIG. 2, whichcomprises a protocol distribution processing module 200, an HTTPprocessing module 201, a WAP processing module 203, a TCP/IP processingmodule 205, a RTP/RTSP processing module 207, and other protocolprocessing modules 209.

The service data from a packet switched domain network is sent todifferent protocol processing modules according to IP port numbers ofthe protocol types, e.g., the service data from an INTERNET 202 is sentto the HTTP processing module 201, the service data from a WAP GW 204 issent to the WAP processing module 203, the service data from an APP(Application) server 206 is sent to the TCP/IP processing module 205,and the service data from a Stream Media Server 208 is sent to theRTP/RTSP processing module 207. The different protocol modules makeprocessing for the service data of corresponding protocol types,respectively, and obtain the CDR information of the service datathereof. After that, the service data is transparently transmitted tothe appropriate MS via the protocol distribution processing module 200and the GGSN 210. When the MS is a prepaid subscriber, the obtained CDRinformation of the service data is sent to the prepaid charging system;when the MS is a real-time charged subscriber, the obtained CDRinformation of the service data is sent to the real-time chargingsystem.

The service data from an MS is sent via the GGSN 210 to the protocoldistribution processing module 200, which will distribute the servicedata to its corresponding protocol processing module for processingaccording to the IP port number of the protocol type of the servicedata, and obtain the CDR information of the service data beforetransparently transmitting the service data to the appropriate packetswitched domain network via its corresponding protocol processingmodule. The prepaid charging system or the real-time charging systemwill then perform charging for the MS according to the CDR informationof the service data.

In the protocol distribution module of the apparatus, service data basedon different application layer protocols can be identified through theIP port number carried in the protocol of the service data, e.g., theport number of the HTTP is 80.

When the HTTP or the WAP is used as the application layer transferprotocol, the visited URL of the service data can be collected at thePROXY device as the identity of the service class. For example, when theURL of the HTTP is set as www.mmsc.com.cn, the service class of theservice data is recognized as data of MMS service and the volume-basedcharging system will charge the service data by the mode of MMS service;when the URL of the HTTP is set as www.kjava.com.cn, the service classof the service data is recognized as data of KJAVA service and thevolume-based charging system will charge the service data by the mode ofKJAVA service.

The physical carrier of the device may be a minicomputer or aworkstation, etc. The PROXY device may be integrated in the GGSN, but itmust be situated on a Gi interface between the GGSN and the INTERNET sothat the data stream of the Gi interface may be transparentlytransmitted through the PROXY device. The PROXY device may be integratedin the WAP GW as well.

As shown in FIG. 3, which is a flowchart of volume-based charging onservice data by means of the PROXY device according to an embodiment ofthe present invention, the specific procedure comprises:

Step 300: When collecting statistics on volumes of the service data,decide the bearer protocol of the transmission layer of the service datain terms of the transmission port number of the IP layer;

Steps 301˜302: If the port number of the service data is PORT1, i.e.,the bearer protocol of the transmission layer of the service data is theRTP/RTSP protocol, the CDR information of the service data will bepicked up by the RTP/RTSP processing module, and then Step 309 will beexecuted. The CDR information comprises: date and time when thetransmission of the service data starts, MSISDN for receiving andsending the service data, an IMSI, transport protocol of the servicedata-Transmission Control Protocol/User Datagram Protocol (TCP/UDP), IPaddress and port number of the MS for receiving and sending the servicedata, an APN, a granted QoS, uplink number of bytes transmitted anddownlink number of bytes transmitted.

Steps 303˜304: If the port number of the service data is PORT2, i.e.,the bearer protocol of the transmission layer of the service data is theHTTP protocol, the CDR information of the service data will be extractedby the HTTP processing module, and then Step 309 will be executed. TheCDR information comprises: date and time when the transmission of theservice data starts, MSISDN for receiving and sending the service data,an IMSI, transport protocol of the service data-HTTP, a URL, a GGSN IPaddress, a SGSN IP address, uplink number of bytes transmitted anddownlink number of bytes transmitted.

Steps 305˜306: If the port number of the service data is PORT3, i.e.,the bearer protocol of the transmission layer of the service data is theWAP protocol, the CDR information of the service data will be fetched bythe RTP/RTSP processing module, and then Step 309 will be executed. TheCDR information is the same as the information in Steps 301 and 302.

Steps 307˜308: If the port number of the service data is PORT4, i.e.,the bearer protocol of the transmission layer of the service data isanother protocol, the CDR information of the service data will be pickedup by the other protocol processing module, and then go to Step 309. TheCDR information can be configured according to the user's demand.

Step 309: Decide whether the MS for receiving and sending the servicedata is a prepaid user, and if yes, go to Step 310, if no, go to Step311.

Step 310: The PROXY device conveys the CDR information of the servicedata to the prepaid charging system via the real-time interface betweenthe PROXY device and the prepaid charging system. The prepaid chargingsystem implements charging for the MS which receives and sends theservice data according to the CDR information, and goes to Step 312.

Step 311: The PROXY device transfers the CDR information of the servicedata to the real-time charging system via the real-time interfacebetween the PROXY device and the real-time charging system. Thereal-time charging system accomplishes charging for the MS whichreceives and sends the service data according to the CDR information,and goes to Step 312.

The real-time charging system or the prepaid charging system presetsdifferent charging modes according to the protocol types of the servicedata. When the real-time charging system or the prepaid charging systemcharges the service data received and sent by the MS in terms of the CDRinformation, the charging system will learn the protocol type of thereceived and sent service data from the CDR information, and therebyknow which charging mode the service data of this protocol type shouldbe charged and charge it by this mode. For example, the HTTP service ischarged by piece of message. When the MS receives or sends service data,the PROXY device will capture the service data and collect the CDRinformation of the service data, which comprises protocol type of theservice data. Suppose that the protocol of the service data is HTTP,after sending the CDR information of the service data to the real-timecharging system or the prepaid charging system, the real-time or prepaidcharging system will learn the class of the service data from the CDRinformation and know that the service data is to be charged by piece ofmessage according to the presetting. Then the charging system willcharge according to the content-based charging bill generated by theservice data rather than the volume-based charging bill thereof.

The real-time charging system or the prepaid charging system may alsopreset different charging modes according to the service classes or URLsof service data. When the CDR information of the service data collectedby the PROXY device is sent to the charging system, the real-time orprepaid charging system will perform charging according to the CDRinformation. When the class of the service data is defined ascontent-based charging, the service data will be charged according tothe generated content-based charging bill; when the class of the servicedata is defined as volume-based charging, the service data will becharged according to the generated volume-based charging bill.

In case that a service server has collected the information of certainservice data and has deducted the cost thereof in the real-time orprepaid charging system, the real-time or prepaid charging system isaware that the service data captured by the PROXY device is the same asthe service data captured by the service servers according to the CDRinformation of the service data collected by the PROXY device, and willno longer deduct the cost for the service data captured by the PROXYdevice.

How a real-time or prepaid charging system charges different servicedata is set beforehand, and the embodiment merely provides an apparatusfor collecting service data. The collecting apparatus gathers thecharging information for the service data, and forms the CDRinformation. The CDR information of the service data comprises all thecharging information of the service data needed by the real-time orprepaid charging system, and it prevents the real-time charging systemfrom charging the same service data twice.

A real-time charging system will calculate the cost of service data inreal time and charge the cost a certain time later, while a prepaidcharging system will set and store an account for a prepaid user inadvance with money prepaid, and deduct the cost of service data from theaccount.

Step 312: While making deductions or terminal charges for theappropriate MS according to the service data flow, the PROXY devicetransparently transmits the service data, which is sent to theappropriate MS via the GGSN and the SGSN.

Another embodiment is hereinafter described for this invention, e.g.,when an MS browses www.sina.com.cn/entertainment.html by the HTTPprotocol, the number of the IP port accessing the PROXY device isdetected as 80 via the IP layer, thus it is known that the protocol typeof the service data is HTTP, and the volume-based charging rate for theHTTP protocol is adopted. If it is defined as charge based on URL, thecharging will be performed in accordance with the rate of the specificaccessed URL. If it is defined as charge based on QoS, the charging ratevaries with the QoS.

The embodiments of this invention make it possible to charge accuratelyfor the service data, which meets the charging demand for service data,and provides a solution for preventing repeated charging for the servicedata in the existing wireless network, thus it better promotes packetdata service for network operators, encourages the users' consumption,and creates more business income. The embodiment provides a solution toaccurate charging by means of only one or a few APNs for various classesof data service. With regard to the service data of prepaid users, thepresent invention solves the problem of real-time deduction and chargingin the prepaid charging mode by offering support on the interface withSCP. The apparatus provided by the embodiment of this invention ischaracterized as expandable, and when a new type of application layerprotocol is added, no change will be implemented on the modules such asthe protocol distribution processing module, and only a processing andcollecting module for the new protocol type will be added.

The foregoing is only descriptions of preferred embodiments of thisinvention and should not be construed as limiting the invention. Anymodification, equivalent substitution, or improvement made withoutdeparting from the spirit and principle of the invention should becovered by the protection scope of the present invention.

1. A charging method for data service in a wireless network, by acollecting apparatus which comprises a protocol distribution processingmodule and one or more than one protocol processing module, each ofwhich corresponds to a protocol type, the method comprising: receiving,by a protocol distribution processing service data from a gatewayservice node; determining, by the protocol distribution processingmodule, a protocol type of the received service data according to anInternet Protocol (IP) port number of the service data; classifying thereceived service data according to the protocol type of the servicedata; sending the classified service data to a protocol processingmodules of the corresponding protocol type; receiving, by the protocolprocessing module of the corresponding protocol type, the classifiedservice data from the protocol distribution processing module;extracting charging information of the received classified service data,wherein the charging information comprises the protocol type of theservice data; and sending the charging information to a charging systemfor charging by a charging mode.
 2. The method according to claim 1,wherein said protocol type of the service data comprises at least one ofthe following: Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP), Wireless ApplicationProtocol (WAP), Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)or Real Time Protocol/Real Time Session Protocol (RTP/RTSP).
 3. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the charging information comprises:time and date for receiving the service data, Mobile Subscriber ISDNNumber (MSISDN) of a MS for receiving the service data, an InternationalMobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI), protocol type adopted by the servicedata, Internet Protocol (IP) port number of the service data, AccessPoint Name (APN), Quality of Service (QoS), and transmitted bytes ofuplink or downlink service data.
 4. The method according to claim 1,wherein the charging information comprises: time and date when thetransmission of the service data starts, MSISDN for receiving andsending the service data, an IMSI, HTTP transport protocol of theservice data, a URL, a GGSN IP address, a SGSN IP address, uplink numberof bytes transmitted and downlink number of bytes transmitted.
 5. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein extracting charging informationfurther comprises: extracting a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of theservice data to identify a service class; wherein the charging systempresets different charging modes according to the service classes or theURL of the service data, wherein the charging modes include volume basedcharging mode and time-duration based charging mode.
 6. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein charging at a charging system comprises:deciding, according to the charging information, whether the servicedata captured at the protocol processing module has the same protocoltype as a service data which is captured at a service server and hasbeen charged in the charging system, if yes, the charging system doesnot charge for the service data captured at the protocol processingmodule; otherwise, performing charging for the service data captured atthe protocol processing module according to the charging information. 7.An apparatus applied in a wireless network for collecting charginginformation of a service data, the apparatus comprising: a protocoldistribution processing module, configured to receive service data froma gateway service node, decide a protocol type of the received servicedata according to an Internet Protocol (IP) port number of the servicedata, classify service data received by protocol type of service data,send the classified service data to a protocol processing modules of thecorresponding protocol type, receive service data from the protocolprocessing module of the corresponding protocol type, and send servicedata to the gateway service node; and the protocol processing module ofthe corresponding protocol type is configured to receive the classifiedservice data from the protocol distribution processing module, extractcharging information of the classified service data, send the charginginformation to a charging system for charging based on a charging mode,and transmit the service data transparently to a packet switched domainnetwork, wherein the charging information comprises the protocol type ofthe service data, receive service data from a packet switched domainnetwork, obtain charging information of the service data and send thecharging information to a charging system, and transmit the service datatransparently to the protocol distribution processing module.
 8. Theapparatus according to claim 7, wherein said apparatus is locatedbetween the gateway service node and the packet switched domain network.9. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the apparatus isintegrated into the gateway service node of the wireless network or aWireless Application Protocol gateway of the wireless network.
 10. Theapparatus according to claim 7, wherein the protocol type of the servicedata comprises at least one of the following: Hyper Text TransferProtocol (HTTP), Wireless Application Protocol (WAP), TransmissionControl Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) or Real Time Protocol/RealTime Session Protocol (RTP/RTSP).
 11. The apparatus according to claim10, wherein said protocol processing module comprises at least one offollowing modules: a Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) processingmodule, for receiving HTTP service data from the protocol distributionprocessing module, obtaining charging information of the service dataand sending the charging information to the charging system, andtransparently transmitting the service data to the packet switcheddomain network; receiving HTTP service data from the packet switcheddomain network, obtaining charging information of the service data andsending the charging information to the charging system, andtransparently transmitting the service data to the protocol distributionprocessing module; a Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) processingmodule, for receiving WAP service data from the protocol distributionprocessing module, obtaining charging information of the service dataand sending the charging information to the charging system, andtransparently transmitting the service data to the packet switcheddomain network; receiving WAP service data from the packet switcheddomain network, obtaining charging information of the service data andsending the charging information to the charging system, andtransparently transmitting the service data to the protocol distributionprocessing module; a Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol(TCP/IP) processing module, for receiving TCP/IP service data from theprotocol distribution processing module, obtaining charging informationof the service data and sending the charging information to the chargingsystem, and transparently transmitting the service data to the packetswitched domain network; receiving TCP/IP service data from the packetswitched domain network, obtaining the charging information of theservice data and sending the charging information to the chargingsystem, and transparently transmitting the service data to the protocoldistribution processing module; or a Real Time Protocol/Real TimeSession Protocol (RTP/RTSP) processing module, for receiving RTP/RTSPservice data from the protocol distribution processing module, obtainingcharging information of the service data and sending the charginginformation to the charging system, and transparently transmitting theservice data to the packet switched domain network; receiving RTP/RTSPservice data from the packet switched domain network and obtainingcharging information of the service data, sending the charginginformation to the charging system, and transparently transmitting theservice data to the protocol distribution processing module.
 12. Theapparatus according to claim 7, wherein the charging informationcomprises: time and date for receiving the service data, MSISDN of aMobile Station (MS) for receiving the service data, an IMSI, protocoltype adopted by the service data, IP port number of the service data,Access Point Name (APN), Quality of Service (QoS), and transmitted bytesof uplink or downlink service data.
 13. The apparatus according to claim12, wherein when the protocol processing module is an HTTP processingmodule, said charging information further comprises: a Uniform ResourceLocator (URL).
 14. The apparatus according to claim 7, wherein thecharging information comprises: time and date when the transmission ofthe service data starts, MSISDN for receiving and sending the servicedata, an IMSI, HTTP transport protocol of the service data, a URL, aGGSN IP address, a SGSN IP address, uplink number of bytes transmittedand downlink number of bytes transmitted.
 15. The apparatus according toclaim 7, wherein the one or more than one protocol processing module isfurther configured to extract a Uniform Resource Locator (URL) of theservice data to identify a service class; and wherein different chargingmodes are preset according to the service classes or the URL of theservice data, wherein the charging modes include volume based chargingmode and time-duration based charging mode.